By RYAN S. CLARK
September 25, 2009
Posted: September 25, 2009, 11:49
Just like he did all night, Little Cypress-Mauriceville quarterback Hunter Gonzales rolled to his left and avoided the rush.
And just like the rest of the game, it appeared he found Zach Sonnier open for what would have been the game-winning touchdown. At least until Port Neches-Groves cornerback Aaron Brandom came into the picture and snagged his second interception of the night with 18.2 seconds left as PN-G held on to win 27-20 on Friday for its first District 20-4A victory.
PN-G, which improves to 4-0, won its first home game since The Reservation underwent a multi-million dollar facelift. LC-M falls to 2-2.
Though Brandom’s late interception gave the Indian faithful something to celebrate, it was running back Caleb Harmon that kept PN-G fans on their feet.
Harmon, a senior, ran for 307 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. His last touchdown came at the beginning of the third quarter when he blazed for a 68-yarder to give PN-G a 27-14 lead.
But that’s when Gonzales and Sonnier started playing pitch-and-catch. Gonzalez, who finished 24-for-40 with 201 yards, found Sonnier seven times during a stretch where he completed 10 consecutive passes.
One of those passes got LC-M down to the Indians’ 1 and Gonzales ran it in to cut Central’s lead to 27-20 with 5:56 left in the third after Garhett Bonneaux missed the extra point attempt.
PN-G had scored on four of its nine drives but it stalled after Harmon’s third quarter touchdown.
With no time outs left, LC-M moved the ball down field to the Indians’19 until Brandom flew seven yards across the end zone and intercepted Gonzales pass.
As for Brandom, it was not the first time he created problems for Gonzales. He picked off the LC-M junior quarterback in the first quarter.
From there PN-G gave the ball to Harmon, who did not disappoint. His first two touchdowns came on one-yard runs but his most impressive touchdown was the one in the third quarter.
Harmon got the ball and after evading a few tacklers, was gone for 68 yards.
